BETTE & JOAN Comes to the Park Theatre

A rivalry for the ages and one of the most famous celebrity feuds of all time will come to life in Bette & Joan in Park90 this Christmas. Emmy award winner and BAFTA nominated actress Greta Scacchi revives her role as the iconic Bette Davis, while RSC and National Theatre actress Felicity Dean plays the legendary Joan Crawford in this bittersweet comedy that follows the two Oscar winning actresses as they lock horns during the making of the classic What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Full of wise cracks and one liners, two cinema greats let rip about their lives, loves and careers.

In 1962, a relatively low-budget psychological thriller was released starring two well-known actresses who needed a career boost. The movie, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, was critically acclaimed becoming an enormous hit at the box office and is still considered a cult classic. Despite this success, it wasn’t the most relaxed of shoots. The well-known rivalry between these two iconic actresses spilled over onto the set and each day was filled with problems exacerbated by their dislike of each other.

Producer Clive Brill said: “This is Brill Productions fourth visit to Park, having previously produced the highly successful Abigail’s Party and Corpse! here. I am thrilled to be working with this wonderfully talented team of creatives.”

Greta Scacchi was last seen on stage in The Orange Tree for the critically acclaimed She Stoops To Conquer. Recent screen credits include; Bodies (Netflix), Darby and Joan (Acorn TV), and the new Daina Reid thriller Run Rabbit Run (Netflix). Greta has worked extensively across television and film and has been the recipient of numerous acting awards. Her first leading role, in Heat and Dust earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer to Film. She won an Emmy award and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in Rasputin: Dark Servant Of Destiny. She was also nominated for an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Broken Trail.

Felicity Dean’s last appeared at Park90 in 2018 playing Princess Margaret in A Process Undone by Richard Stirling. Her theatre career has been critically acclaimed and eclectic, playing stages from pub theatres to Broadway in New York including playing with the late Paul Schofield in his last ever production John Gabriel Borkman and for The National Theatre Tom Stoppard’s acclaimed trilogy The Coast of Utopia. For the RSC, in Stratford, London and New York, she originated the role of Ann in Good by C P Taylor. Felicity was nominated for best actress by the Critics Circle for her portrayal of Masha in Three Sisters, directed by the late Bill Brydon at Birmingham Rep. Felicity’s film and TV career has also been extensive with film credits including The Whistleblower, starring opposite Michael Caine, Revolution with Al Pacino and TV includingMidsomer Murders and Rosemary and Thyme.

Director Sue Jenkins’ previous work includes Narcissist In The Mirror, The Pleasance Theatre London, KIN Dukes Playhouse Lancaster, and many productions at the Lowry in Salford. She is also co-founder and director of The Actors’ Lab Media City, Manchester, and known for acting roles including last year’s Cuckoo at the Royal Court and extensive TV roles including Jackie Corkhill in Brookside (1990 – 2001).

Park Theatre presents exceptional theatre in the heart of Finsbury Park, boasting two world-class performance spaces: Park200 for predominantly larger scale productions by established talent, and Park90, a flexible studio space, for emerging artists. In eleven years, it has enjoyed eight West End transfers (including Rose starring Maureen Lipman, The Boys in the Band starring Mark Gatiss, Pressure starring David Haig and The Life I Lead starring Miles Jupp), two National Theatre transfers, 14 national tours, seven Olivier Award nominations, has won multiple OffWestEnd Offie Awards and won a Theatre of the Year award from The Stage.

 

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